The present invention relates to a rear view mirror for vehicles, especially to an external rear view mirror, which is preferably intended for use for passenger cars or trucks. In particular, the present invention relates to those mirrors, the mirror body of which can be adjusted about a vertical axis and about a horizontal axis.
The vehicle operator is dependent to a certain extent upon an optimum adjustment of his mirror, since only then can the desired viewing angle be achieved. However, the adjustment of a mirror requires not only a certain skill, rather, the illumination when making the adjustment of the mirror must be great enough. During unfavorable weather conditions, especially however in the darkness, it is very difficult to make a good adjustment of the mirror. Beyond that, it is even more important under these conditions, however, then a control over the desired adjustment of the mirror is practically impossible. An intended, especially however an unintended or malicious shifting out of adjustment of the mirror by a third party can lead to considerable danger, since the operator, due to the lack of a possibility of control, feels assured that he is using a properly adjusted mirror.
It is essentially an object of the present invention to embody a mirror of the aforementioned general type in such a way that a certain, desired, and optimum adjustment of the mirror is assured, and in particular, possibly also under the assumption that an unintended shifting of the mirror out of adjustment has occurred.